LEGACY: Marauder's Era
by CatchthePetals
Summary: The culminating moment in which Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort was only made possible by the legacy left behind by the generation before. The unspoken heroes of the First Wizarding War, all the way from their awkward beginnings at Hogwarts to the very end til' death do us part. From OC perspective (Raylanx Kingsley). Covers both generations, but focuses on Marauder's era.
1. Chapter 1 Dogwood and Aspen

"What if I'm not magical, Jamie?" I whispered anxiously, and immediately regretted voicing my worst fear. When the words left my mouth, it was like the idea was given sustenance, closer to becoming reality.

"You are" my older brother Jamie immediately comforted me, "Remember when our parents left us and Sola in the car for a short time to grab us drinks and it was ridiculously warm inside the car… right up until you unintentionally made it snow inside."

"It could have been you or Sola" I pointed out, "You're both magical, you've both received your Hogwarts letters."

"No, it wasn't us. I'm six years older than you, I was already in my third year of Hogwarts, and I wasn't allowed to do magic. I would have gotten in trouble. And Sola was sleeping… It was you." Jamie reached over and mussed up my hair, "Don't worry, Ray, I know you'll get your letter."

I looked up at him worriedly, but his kind smile blew away all my fears for the moment.

As most fears are, mine were unnecessary, and my Hogwarts letter arrived on my eleventh birthday that December. In August, seventh-year Jamie received his letter first, which came with the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain badge.

"That's wonderful!" my mother fawned, "Um… what does it mean, exactly?"

A few hours later, my fifth-year sister, Sola, received her letter and the Ravenclaw Prefect badge.

"Darling, we're incredibly proud of you! But… what exactly is a prefect?" my father asked.

My siblings laughed exasperatedly, but sat down my adorable parents and explained it all to them. There were a lot of "oh"s and "ah"s and "wonderful"s for the next few minutes.

"Sola and I both have a few new books to buy this year" Jamie commented, looking over his book list.

"I need to restock on quills, ink, and parchment as well" Sola added.

"And Ray, you need your wand and robes and all that" my father said, smiling proudly at me.

"Well, sounds like it's that time of year to pay a visit to Diagon Alley", my mother announced.

* * *

The muffled pitter-pattering and bustling of feet and the incessant clanking and groaning of old wagons on an old cobblestone road mixed with the fresh smell of chocolate, baked bread, and new textbooks as well as that slightly musty smell of old, forgotten merchandise.

That was my first impression of Diagon Alley.

"Why don't we start at Ollivander's?" my father suggested, "Since its Ray's first year?"

"Nonsense, Madame Malkin's has to be our first stop. Sola's a prefect this year, which means we need to get her some beautiful robes. People will be looking at her this year, you know! And if we don't hurry, all the silk robes will be gone!"

"Mother, I don't really need silk-" my sister tried to protest, but my mother pulled her away immediately.

"Well, Jamie, shall we go to Ollivander's?" my father asked him, but Jamie was staring lovingly, wide-eyed, and half in a daze at something past my father.

My father frowned and looked behind him, looking for some gorgeous, long-legged girl, but instead found Jamie staring at the newest Quidditch broom- Jupiter Model G640.

"I think I'm in love" Jamie voiced breathlessly.

My father rolled his eyes and said, "Son, as your father, I'm all for you playing sports, but this… obsession is a bit too much…"

But my brother didn't even hear him. Instead, Jamie continued in his reverie, saying, "You see those sweet curves on that broom? Perfect to the touch, smooth, glamorous…"

"You sound completely perverted" I told my brother, half-laughing and half-concerned.

Jamie's nose was right up against the window, his breath fogging up the glass.

My father finally threw his hands up and dragged me away from my crazy family, to Ollivander's.

We entered the tiny store just as another young boy had discovered his rightful wand.

"Dogwood mixed with Aspen, phoenix feather, eleven and a quarter inches long", I heard the wandmaker declare.

A beautiful array of black and white ribbons shot out of the end of his wand. The woman who came with him, presumably his mother, for they shared the same aristocratic features and dark eyes, scowled and said nastily, "Dogwood mixed with Aspen, eh? Pitiful. We Blacks have always prided ourselves on choosing powerful Yew and Blackthorn woods only."

"How arrogant of you" the young boy snarled, "to think that you chose your wand. Don't you know that the wand chooses the wizard?"

There was a pause and then a loud smack! as the woman slapped her son without mercy.

"Madam!" my father shouted, horrified.

"As respectable a witch as you undoubtly are, I must ask you to leave the premises if you are going to behave in such a way, Madam Black" Ollivander, an ancient man with eyes like silver, said, and though his words were civil, his voice and eyes were strikingly sharp.

Heaving a deep breath, nostrils flaring, Madam Black said angrily, "Fine, very well then. You won't get a wand!" And she grabbed the little boy by the arm and dragged him out the shop, leaving the wand on the floor where the boy had dropped it.

Ollivander sighed, staring at them pitifully, and then turned to us, "Here for your first wand, I presume?"

I nodded half-heartedly, still worried about the young boy.

"Very well, stretch out your wand arm, please."

As the measurements rolled out, Ollivander began to pull different boxes from the shelves, muttering to himself incoherently.

"Here" he finally presented me a wand, "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

I took the wand hesitantly and then flinched when a blast of fire erupted from the end of the wand, catching Ollivander's cuff. Ollivander simply pointed at his cuff and water sprouted out, dousing the flames. He calmly took back the holly wand, but I was extremely shaken.

"No worries" Ollivander reassured me, and presented me with another wand, "Maple, dragon heartstring, ten and a half inches, sturdy and dependable…"

Before I'd even gotten a firm grip on the wand, Ollivander had whipped it out of my hand, shaking his head. "Here, Spanish Cedar, unicorn hair, twelve inches, majestic and strict…"

I'd laid one finger on it when he'd shoved the wand back into its box.

"Rosewood, unicorn hair, ten inches, regal and feminine…"

I waved it the tiniest bit and the entire store window shattered loudly. My father flinched badly, even Ollivander raised an unimpressed eyebrow, and I immediately shoved the wand back into its box.

"Haven't you got a misfit wand or something? One that no one else wanted?" I finally asked as the number of wands I'd tried grew higher and higher… but I felt that it was because Ollivander kept giving me wands that never matched me (supple, sturdy, dependable, majestic, strict, regal, feminine… none of these words described me).

Ollivander suddenly paused at my words and looked at me, his silver eyes searching deep into my soul. I shifted, uncomfortable with his penetrating gaze.

I wondered for a second if I'd insulted Ollivander, after all, this was his area of expertise… and I was suggesting he was totally wrong.

Ollivander walked over to the deepest depths of his shelves and cabinets and began to move boxes. Dust began to sift into the air and when Ollivander unlodged one final box, a huge cloud of dust burst into the air. He reached into the box and pulled out a small wand box, from which he produced a wand.

"Here" he murmured and handed it to me.

With the wand came a soft smell of mint, stifled by the dust on this obviously old wand. I gripped the wand and for a moment, nothing happened. But then an unmistakable warmth flooded through me and my eyes widened when suddenly the entire store was bathed in a warm glow the color of an orange-pink sunset. No light had been produced from my wand and yet, unmistakably, that light had been produced from my wand… from me.

"Pine mixed with pink ivory, phoenix feather, twelve and a half inches. Poignant and illuminating. Subtle yet rich."

He took the wand back from me and put it back in the dusty case, "It has stayed in this store for over fifty years. I believed I had miscreated it, but it seems that it was waiting for you."

And those words made me feel indescribably happy.

"I'll treat it well" I promised and Ollivander gave me a ghost of a smile.

We bought the wand and left the store, but about a block later, that nagging sense was still tugging at my mind.

I abruptly suddenly told my father, "I forgot something at Ollivander's. I'll be right back!" and raced off back to the wand shop.

The bell dinged again as I shoved open the door.

"May I help you?" Ollivander asked, looking at me sternly.

Slightly breathless, I said, "That wand that chose the boy before me… how much is it? And what was his name?"

A few seconds later, I walked out seven Galleons poorer, but with the dogwood mixed with aspen wand and a name: Sirius Black.


	2. Chapter 2 Gryffindor, But Not Really

Under a chandelier of glimmering silver autumn stars, glittering orange lights flicker in every window of the tall turrets and majestic walls of the castle. They are reflected on the velvety black lake like the beacons of light of lost ships on a calm night sea. Slightly surreal, but incredibly beautiful.

This was my first impression of Hogwarts.

* * *

"Abbott, Thomas." "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Arcadius, Amelia." "RAVENCLAW!"

"Avery, Hunter." "SLYTHERIN!"

"Baker, Alice." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Black, Sirius." I watched with expectant eyes as he clambered up onto the stool, his eyes disappearing under the large hat. For a long minute, there was absolute silence in the Great Hall.

Finally- "GRYFFINDOR!"

There seemed to be a shocked silence and then cheers and claps broke out- though they didn't sound all that enthusiastic. I wasn't too sure why.

"Blue, Ivy." "RAVENCLAW!"

"Bones, George." "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Carrow, Alecto." "SLYTHERIN!"

"Carrow, Amycus." "SLYTHERIN!"

"Chang, Sam." "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Cross, Athena." "RAVENCLAW!"

"Darcy, William." "RAVENCLAW!"

"Diggory, Amos." "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Evans, Lily." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Faith, Amanda." "SLYTHERIN!"

"Finnigan, Zane." "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Jordan, Jesse!" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

By the time "Kingsley, Raylynx" finally rolled around, I felt so terribly nervous that I nearly tipped the stool over when I finally got to it.

"And… what have we here?" The Sorting Hat's voice spoke to me, "A perpetual fear of being judged by others, slightly dramatic and rebellious though in a slightly pathetic way, a love of knowledge for knowledge's sake but no application and analytic skill… Hm… where to put you? Upon your personality, Hufflepuff would be best… Upon your passions, Ravenclaw would suit you better… Upon your wishes, Slytherin would be perfect… Well, perhaps Hufflepuff would be _best_, but hm… hm… you're not _stupid_, you know, Ravenclaw would give you the Enlightment that would give you a certain type of happiness and sense of self-achievement beyond any happiness that you know, and you do _want _to achieve, I see that quite, quite clearly. You care of others' opinions, you suffer from your relationship with your siblings, you want to be _yourself_…you would do anything for it, Slytherin… but ah! Yes, that's it, isn't it? It's not that you want knowledge, kindness, or ambition…. It's that you _want _to be yourself. Very well, then. Very well… I place a fair amount of _trust _in you in doing this. But I suppose, well… I suppose above all, the one thing that you do have to recommend you is that you possess the determination and courage to overcome all your shortcomings… So be it. GRYFFINDOR!"

I shakily removed the hat from my head and barely registering the clapping, I sat at the nearest seat I could find on the Gryffindor table so that my knees wouldn't give out.

"Longbottom, Frank." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Lovegood, Xenophilius." "RAVENCLAW!"

"Lupin, Remus." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Meadowes, Dorcas." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"McKinnon, Marlene." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Nott, Theodore." "SLYTHERIN!"

"O'Leary, Jacob." "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Pettigrew, Peter." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Potter, James." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Rookwood, Augustus." "SLYTHERIN!"

"Rosier, Evans." "SLYTHERIN!"

"Salinger, Jay." "RAVENCLAW!"

"Snape, Severus." "SLYETHRIN!"

"Smith, Riley." "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Taylor, Callie!" "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Travers, Adam!" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Yaxley, Daniel!" "SLYTHERIN!"

"Zena, Aubrey!" "SLYTHERIN!"

And so we were sorted, like every other graduating class at Hogwarts. But the legacies our generation would leave, no one could comprehend. Least of all me.

* * *

"Jump over that staircase, go through this tapestry, wait for this staircase to move…"

"I'm never going to remember this" I murmured hopelessly, slightly dejected, "I'm going to get lost every day."

"Me too" a petite girl with short brown hair, a heart-shaped face, and large black glasses whispered shyly to me.

"Well, if we get lost… let's at least get lost together, okay?" I suggested. Normally, I don't like to attach myself to people in any way, but this girl just seemed so precious and honest…

And I was right. She didn't fake a smile at me and she didn't hyperactively agree to be my best friend. She just hesitantly took my hand and squeezed it very gently, silently promising she'd be there for me.

When we finally made it to Gryffindor tower where the password was "Bluebells", as designated by the Fat Lady.

We made it all the way up the staircase to the First Year dorms, where I met my dorm mates: (the girl I'd just made friends with) Alice Baker, Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, and Lily Evans.

* * *

Sure enough, not only did Alice and I get lost together on our way down to the Great Hall the next morning, but we were also accompanied by Lily, Marlene, and Dorcas.

"Jamie" I whined to my older brother at breakfast, "Why is it so hard to find your way around here?"

Jamie smiled his beautiful, kind, older-brother smile and reassured me, "Pretty soon you won't even have to think about it, I promise."

As it turned out, pretty soon was definitely not this morning. Don't ask me how but we ended up at the Gameskeeper's hut on our way to Transfiguration. The sixth year we asked had probably found it amusing to trick us, but the positive was that I met Hagrid, the Gameskeeper, who seemed genuinely kind-hearted and gave us the proper directions to class.

* * *

My very first class, Transfiguration, was with Professor McGonagall, who seated me next to a good-looking first-year boy from Hufflepuff. He greeted me with a shy smile and a slight wave. From the corner of his parchment, I realized his name with Zane Finnigan.

"I must admit, I'm terrible at Transfiguration" were the first words out of his mouth.

"I'm probably rubbish as well", I replied, feeling slightly nervous and excited at the prospect of making a friend.

"Would you like to be my partner? I promise not to turn you into something disgusting."

I smiled shyly and nodded, "Yeah, let's be partners."

We gripped hands, a truce between terrible Transfiguration students happily made.

The truce was only reinforced by laughter when I turned my match into a small figurine of an elephant, instead of a sharp silver needle, which, was quite… unexpected. Hilarity and companionship was further confirmed when Zane set his match on fire, which burst in a miniature explosion that left his eyebrows singed.

Professor McGonagall was not pleased.

* * *

Later that evening, alone in my dorm, I twirled the Dogwood mixed Aspen wand between my fingers. Luckily, none of our classes had required wands yet, mostly just welcoming speeches and ground rules, but I knew I had to get this wand to Sirius Black immediately.

But for some reason, I didn't want him to know it was me… Maybe he would feel embarrassed at the idea that I'd bought it for him when his own mother hadn't. Or the fact that I'd been there when he'd been slapped and dragged out of the shop by his own mother. I guess I didn't want him to think that I pitied him in any way… But getting this wand to him without him knowing seemed impossible.

Luckily, the perfect opportunity presented itself when a seventh year Gryffindor decided to play a prank on the school by having confetti erupt over Professor McGonagall whenever her behind touched her chair at the breakfast table.

Though Professor McGonagall was quick as lightning in countering the prank, it gave me enough time to slip Sirius Black his wand into his bag- right on top of his books.

Hands shaking, I barely had his bag zipped up again when he turned back around. Lily, Alice, and Dorcas hadn't noticed either. On the other hand, Marlene lifted an eyebrow at me but luckily, she chose not to question me.

"Rather lame, don't you think?" one of the boys (James Potter, I think?) commented lazily, "I bet we could do better, Sirius."

Sirius grinned; a cocky, arrogant grin that reeked of conceit as he replied, "Yeah, we're only first years and we could do much, much better."

I felt slightly insulted because I knew who the prankster was- a seventh year Gryffindor, my brother, Jamie, whose favorite teacher who he thought should "let her hair down once in a while and learn to laugh" was Minerva McGonagall.


	3. Chapter 3 Snakes, Lions, and Ravens

"Please turn to page eight and pull out your wands, class" the very short Professor Flitwick instructed.

As I pulled out my Charms book, I watched out of the corner of my eye as Sirius slowly sighed and put his head down on his arms.

"Something wrong, Sirius?" a frail-looking boy named Remus Lupin asked him quietly.

Sirius shook his head, but a moment later, began to confess, "I haven't got a-"

"Mr. Black, if you would please join the rest of the class in opening your textbook?" Flitwick said pointedly.

Sirius looked as though he was going to retort to Flitwick's request, but instead reached down and opened his bag to grab his book to avoid disrespecting Flitwick.

A moment later, he stared down into his bag, befuddled and completely startled. He picked up the wand in his hand and grasped it. Slowly, a smile stretched across his face, brightening his usually morose and aristocratic features in a genuinely happy way.

It was a welcoming sight to behold and I barely managed to hide a smile of my own.

* * *

Three weeks later and I'd finally made it to the Great Hall without an unintentional detour.

Smiling broadly and completely proud of myself, I looked around for Jamie, to tell him that I'd finally done the impossible.

But when I found him over at the Ravenclaw table next to my sister- the smile slid right off my face.

"You leave my sister alone, Bellatrix!" my brother snarled angrily, his wand in his tightly-clenched fist emitting red-hot sparks.

"Then tell your Mudblood sister to keep her filthy little head down and live quietly! What's it to her if we gave a second year Mudblood what she deserved?" a tall, dark-haired, and rather intimidating seventh-year Slytherin girl snapped back at my brother.

My brother growled angrily. In fact, this was the angriest I'd ever seen him, other than the one time my father had beat him at Quidditch. That was a mistake my father never made again.

"Jamie, don't you dare waste your breath hexing her" Sola sternly warned my brother, her hand gripping his shoulder tightly, to restrain him.

"Ha!" the Slytherin girl scoffed haughtily and her dark-lidded eyes narrowed, "As if he could! Try it, I dare you. Just try it, you dirty little-"

"And that will be quite enough!" Professor McGonagall cried sharply, "Ms. Bellatrix Culvren, twenty points from Slytherin for provoking fellow schoolmates and for such vile, uneducated language!"

"Let's go, Jamie" Sola said shortly and quickly walked out of the Great Hall, pulling my brother with her.

I watched my siblings as they disappeared into another corridor, feeling frightened, confused, and helpless. I couldn't comprehend what had just occurred nor was I even included with my siblings. I wasn't sure which was worse; ignorance or isolation. And then I realized I embodied both.

* * *

Shouts of "Up!" in varying degrees of confidence littered the air as we first years attempted our first flying lesson.

This was not my first time on a broomstick, thanks to Jamie's maniacal love affair with Quidditch. To my great relief, my broom flew straight into my hand. The first time I'd ever tried that, the broom had whacked me straight in the face. I'd cried, my father had tried to bite back a smile and patted my head gently, my mother had yelled, terrified at the sight of blood, and my siblings had both laughed heartily.

On my right, Marlene's had flown into her hand after five or six tries. On my left, Alice's hadn't even budged. And across from me, a Slytherin first year, Aubrey Zena, was gradually beginning to lose patience with his broomstick.

"Up… Up. I said up. Up! UP! UP, YOU STUPID PIECE OF WOOD, UP-!"

We all simultaneously winced as the broomstick jumped up vertically and smacked him right in the face.

And in that instant, I knew, somehow, that before seven years had passed, Aubrey Zena and I would be friends, Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry or not.

* * *

Halloween morning was cloudy and brisk and the atmosphere was full of excitement. The upper classmen were excited because the Hogwarts masquerade ball and their first Hogsmeade trip of the year were today. The lower classmen were excited not only for the feast and decorations at Hogwarts later that night, but also because it meant that we could have the castle to ourselves for a few hours.

Marlene, Dorcas, Alice, and I chose to wander the grounds while Lily flounced off to meet with Severus Snape, a first year Slytherin who seemingly scowled through all twenty-four hours of his day. How a cheerful and carefree girl like Lily and a severe and unforgiving like Severus were friends was beyond my comprehension, or as Marlene eloquently put it, "What in the bloody hell happened to make those two best friends?"

Chattering away, the four of us ended up next to the basements when Marlene bumped into me, jabbing me in the side with her elbow by accident.

I winced in pain, but couldn't help but snort as I'm extremely ticklish on my sides.

"Ticklish, aren't you?" Dorcas noted with a mischievous grin.

"Don't" I warned, but it was futile. Within ten seconds, the four of us were in a vicious tickle fight where I was quite obviously the last-place loser.

I shrieked and quickly dodged as Marlene's long arms chased after me. She barely missed and accidently tickled the pear on a portrait of a bowl of fruit on the wall.

Suddenly, the pear shaped itself into a door knob. Wide-eyed, we all stopped dead in our tickle fight.

"Am I dreaming?" Alice wondered breathlessly, rubbing her eyes.

Dorcas reached over and pinched her. When Alice muttered, "Ow", Dorcas replied, "We're not dreaming, Alice dear. We really are in Wonderland."

"What?" Alice murmured.

"Alice in Wonderland?" Dorcas responded, "Didn't you ever. . . ? Oh right, you're pureblood, I forgot."

Finally, I reached over, grabbed the door knob, and pulled.

And just like that, we discovered the Hogwarts kitchens and house elves as first years.

* * *

Quidditch season had begun and the first match was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, which meant that Jamie and Sola were versing each other; Jamie as Gryffindor Chaser and Captain and Sola as Ravenclaw Seeker.

The minute the Quaffle was thrown into the air, Jamie was in action, moving almost too fast to be seen and performing flying techniques rivaling that of professionals. He flew more gracefully and naturally than a hawk. He even seemed to breathe easier up in the air.

The Quaffle seemed magnetized to Jamie, avoiding the Ravenclaws, and within fifteen minutes, Jamie had scored forty points. The Gryffindors were cheering like maniacs; I even spotted a few fan girls screaming Jamie's name and yelling that they loved him.

"Marry me you lovely baby!", some Hufflepuff twat screeched.

I shuddered.

Thirty minutes in and Ravenclaw was looking desperate – three hundred to one hundred and forty with Jamie having scored two hundred points by himself- and forty of those points from the other end of the field. I proudly noted that Jamie was not selfish with the Quaffle; in fact, he threw it to others more often than he kept it, but the team definitely depended on him to score.

The Gryffindor Seeker, sixth year Hunter Weasley was flying high in the air, trying to spot a glint of gold in the sun. Suddenly, Sola dived. She was heading straight for the ground, hurtling down until she was fifty feet from the air, forty, thirty- Hunter was following her, trying to get even with her- and he almost was. But then, ten feet from the ground, Sola pulled up her broom with a great jerk and suddenly shot straight up and all the Gryffindors groaned as we realized Sola's dive had just been a ploy. Hunter nearly crashed into the ground at full speed but Jamie had dived down and grabbed Hunter at the last minute, prioritizing Hunter's well-being over scoring more goals.

Sola was now a dot in the sky, almost impossible to see, and we were all craning our necks when the whistle blew.

"And the Ravenclaw Seeker has caught the Snitch- but Gryffindor has won the match by ten points! Three hundred versus two hundred and ninety! One of the highest-scoring games in Quidditch history at Hogwarts! Congratulations Gryffindor!" the announcer, a third year Gryffindor named Mary McDonald spoke.

I let out a breath of relief- Jamie had won his first game as Captain and Sola had made a spectacular catch… the only disappointment I felt was that sinking feeling that my siblings were so perfectly brilliant when… I could never be that way.

* * *

It quickly became clear who the bright students of our year were- and I don't mean intelligent or book-smart, but bright- that rare mix of creative, eloquent, brilliant-beyond-the-books, and charmingly energetic.

No matter how many hours Alice, Marlene, Dorcas, and I studied, we could never come close to the genius of Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Athena Cross (Ravenclaw), Madison Jane (Hufflepuff), or Severus Snape (Slytherin).

"How is it", I muttered to Dorcas as James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter stumbled in late to Herbology, but were excused by Kettleburn with one of Sirius' winks, "that they're so bloody brilliant? They get away with everything."

Dorcas shrugged and shot me a grin, "Why? Are you jealous? Do you want be late as well? Just walk out and come back."

"Yeah", Marlene scoffed, "and if one of uswinked at Kettleburn like that, do you think _we _would be excused?"

Dorcas laughed, "No, probably not", she admitted.

"Now, who can tell me what the Abyssinian shrivelfig is used for?"

There was a dead silence and after giving everyone else a long enough time to prove themselves, Lily Evans and Madison Jane raised their hands.

"Yes, Ms. Evans?"

"The Shrinking Solution" she replied straightforwardly.

"Good girl, take 10 points to Gryffindor" Kettleburn replied, smiling warmly at her.

_How nice it would feel… to just have that knowledge somewhere in my head… to answer when no one else could. I wish I were my sister. _

Though teachers had initially expected much of me, as the sister of the extremely brilliant Sola Kingsley and the ridiculously charming Jamie Kingsley, they quickly came to expect far less of me than of my siblings.

I wasn't slow. In fact, I was fairly advanced in all of my classes, especially Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts, but nothing close to the amazing genius Sola had been.

"Lily, how are you so brilliant at Potions?" I asked her glumly as we walked out of class to lunch one day.

"Well, I studied a lot before I got here and I also had the best tutor possible" Lily answered.

"Tutor? Who? I thought your parents were Muggles like mine are", I said.

"My parents are Muggles, Raylynx. It was Severus who tutored me." Lily replied.

"Severus Snape? That Slytherin boy?" Marlene asked, her eyebrows raised.

"So what?" Lily asked, flushing pink, "So what if he's Slytherin?"

Marlene was respectful and quick enough to conceal her skepticism and answer, "No, nothing. Nothing if he's Slytherin."

* * *

The first year passed by in a flurry. I never quite fit in as a Gryffindor, ever. I was too meek, too stupid, but everything was such a rush that it was hard to dwell on that feeling. Really, it felt as though we had no longer started than it had ended, then I was promising the few friends I had made that I would write to them over the summer.

Jamie graduated famous, having been scouted by Luxembourg's Quidditch team a few days before term ended. They wanted him to be a starter next season, which was a rare offer for players as young and fresh-from-school as Jamie.

Sola had finished her O.W.L.s now and she was content to spend her summer in peace- right up until she was scouted to become a model in the Muggle World. She traveled between Australia, London, New York, and Los Angeles, quickly climbing the staircase to becoming a top model. My mother was delighted, saying that it was because of the body figure Sola had inherited from her. My father was skeptical, declaring that it was actually because of the funky eyebrows Sola had inherited from him.

By the time I was going back to my second year, Jamie Kingsley was all set to play his first professional Quidditch match against Ireland and Sola Kingsley was on the cover of Chanel, Guess, and Victoria's Secret.


	4. Chapter 4 Start of Second Year

I found Alice first at King's Station and as our signature greeting, we grasped hands tenderly and exchanged genuinely happy smiles.

Words weren't needed, just by the brightness of her eyes, I knew she was okay and that summer had gone well for her. Suddenly, long arms embraced me from behind.

"Ray!" Marlene greeted me cheerfully, grinning brightly at Alice as well.

Dorcas found us not long after with those sharp eyes of hers.

"Where's Lily?" Alice asked and we looked all over for her until- "There she is!" Dorcas spotted her.

We started to walk over to her when suddenly I realized an unexpected and uncomfortable fact: that Lily was screaming at another girl who somewhat resembled her, except she seemed far more stern and frail and had brown hair. Lily's hair was falling loose from her ponytail, her face was a blotchy red, and she looked quite unlike herself. I flung my arms out, stopping the other girls from racing over to Lily.

The stern, frail girl spat a vicious word at Lily- I could read her lips- "Freak!" before turning on her heel and flouncing off. Lily burst into tears on the spot.

The four of us started to run towards her simultaneously, but stopped short when Severus appeared from the crowd and began to comfort Lily, wiping her tears away.

"Oh" Dorcas said simply.

Marlene looked torn between confusion and revulsion.

"Let's get on the train and save her a spot" Alice said softly and I pulled Marlene along into a compartment onto the train.

* * *

The Welcoming Feast was delicious and the atmosphere buzzed with happiness and excitement as friends saw each other again. I missed Jamie already, but I quite enjoyed the company of Marlene, Dorcas, Lily, and Alice. Besides, I wasn't anxious this year since I didn't have to be Sorted.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore greeted us with open arms on the podium before introducing the first years.

While the A's were being Sorted, I caught up with Marlene, asking her how her summer had been.

But then the name, "Black, Regulus" caught my attention.

A boy who very much resembled Sirius, with long locks of dark hair and quite a bit of height, but minus the confident strut, walked up to the Sorting Hat. He seemed to eye it very hesitantly before placing it on his head.

I carefully peeked over at Sirius and although he tried to appear disinterested, his eyes were ablaze with a strange fire and under the table, his hands were clenched into fists.

Finally- the verdict: "SLYTHERIN!"

Sirius remained composed but his shoulders sagged and it was with stormy grey eyes and a clenched jaw that he watched his younger brother walk over to the Slytherin table and sit between Yaxley and Snape.

Unaware that I was watching Sirius, I was startled when his brooding eyes suddenly met mine. Feeling extremely self-conscious, I coughed and looked away.

When I chanced a glance later, he was staring morosely at the table, as depressed as I'd ever seen him. I felt a pang of pity in my heart, but looked away before he caught me staring at him again.

But Sirius Black never brooded for long.

* * *

James and Sirius started a prank war the second week back from break, challenging each other to become the better prankster.

The pranks spread far and wide as James cast a spell on the chicken for dinner at the Slytherin table to jump up and dance a little jig as it sang loudly that Slytherins were prats. Professor Slughorn was not pleased though I rather think Professor McGonagall had to smother a cheeky smile before loudly berating James and knocking off a couple house points for "disrespect".

"But it was a textbook example of that Animation Spell you taught us yesterday!" James Potter retorted indignantly and I had the impression that Professor McGonagall had to smother another affectionate grin for the messy-haired, arrogant boy in front of her.

Sirius pranked a very pretty fourth year Hufflepuff, Anna Lee, by slipping a short-lasting Love Potion into her morning pumpkin juice, and basking in her attention all morning- and then the effects wore off and he was promptly slapped across the face. His haughty smirk was only replaced by a properly abashed face when she went so far as to threaten to hex his manhood off.

James, much to the vexation of Lily, then pranked Snape with a Permanent Sticking Charm so that he couldn't leave his Potions seat in time to get to Transfiguration. In fact, he ended up carrying the seat attached to his bottom all the way to class, where Professor McGonagall counter cursed it. Lily gave James a nasty glare, Marlene gave him a secret thumbs up.

Sirius, then, unbeknownst to us, set his sights on Marlene. When Marlene innocently picked up his pumpkin juice in the morning, it sloshed over the rim of the cup into her lap.

"Dorcas!" Marlene complained, "You elbowed me…"

"I did not!" Dorcas said indignantly, "I didn't even touch you."

Marlene picked up the cup again and this time the juice was still, but when she attempted to drink it, it avoided her lips and instead dripped down onto her shirt.

Dorcas' eyes narrowed and flickered over to Sirius and James when suddenly the juice straight jumped from the cup and splashes Marlene full in the face, leaving her soaking wet.

Sirius guffawed.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" Marlene screeched, "You absolute idiotic, immature, and completely stupid arse!"

James laughed loudly while Sirius smirked at his side. Remus Lupin cracked the smallest smile while managing to look apologetic while Peter Pettigrew applauded Sirius' use of magic adoringly.

"I'm completely soaked with pumpkin juice!" Marlene shouted angrily, "And I just showered!

"What, is showering a big deal for you?" Sirius chortled, "Once a year event, is it? That explains the stink…"

"YOU ARROGANT DOG!" Marlene yelled, her voice becoming more and more high-pitched.

"Thanks, love" Sirius replied, "As a prankster, reactions like yours are singing praise to my ears."

* * *

"Could I have your attention, please?" Professor McGonagall called us to attention, "Right. Now, today, we will be transforming animals into water goblets. Like so." She stood in an upright posture and held out her wand, facing a toucan, "Tap one. Tap two. Tap three. _Fera Verto."_

We watched in awe as a light spray of golden mist erupted from her wand, a slight swooshing noise could be heard, and the toucan had transformed into a rather handsome goblet.

"And to revert. Tap one. Tap two. And Three, a flick! _Fera Reverta!_" And a small circle of white light was cast by her wand, and the goblet and reverted to a toucan, who immediately yelped at the state of his feathers and began to comb himself with his beak.

Zane and I were given a small kitten to practice to.

"Zane, we can't mess up this time. It's a living creature." I told him, slightly nervous.

"A cute one at that" Zane said, petting its tiny head and making me smile.

"Okay, I said, "I'll go first. Tap three times, right?"

"Yeah."

Tap. Tap. Tap. Focusing as hard as I could, I said firmly, "_Fera Verto!_"

Miraculously, a light spray of golden mist erupted from my wand, a slight swooshing noise could be heard, and the kitten transformed into a small white goblet, with moonstone jewels. I looked up at Zane, incredulous.

"Did I actually-?" I started to ask, but then my goblet mewed.

"Of course" I said, "Right. Yeah. There's no way in hell I could have actually gotten something on my first try."

Zane was trying not to laugh as he patted my shoulder consolingly.

It took me about four tries to revert it back, and it was Zane's turn.

He tapped three times and nearly shouted, "_Fera Verto!_"

A light spray of _silver _mist erupted from his wand, and we found ourselves looking at a goblet with a curious tail.

"Well", he shrugged, "no mewing."

"And no explosion, which, is quite the success" I reminded him.

He smiled and tap. Tap. Flick! "_Fera Reverta!"_

The kitten was back, totally normal.

"Man, you're adorable" Zane said, putting his head down on the desk to look at the kitten. He reached out and stroked its back,

Suddenly the kitten mewed again- and fire shot out of its mouth, singing Zane's eyebrows.

Zane's eyes were so wide with alarm that I knew he was speechless.

"Uh…", I called, "Professor?!"


	5. Chapter 5 Pranks and Prejudice

It felt as though second year passed even more quickly than first year had. Mid-term exams had finally ended today and I was quite sleepy, having stayed up the night before with Dorcas to review Transfiguration. Marlene had just given up and went to sleep around four, Lily had already studied the week before and gone to bed at nine, shaking her head at us, and Alice had quietly slept on the couch besides us around two in the morning.

"Let's take a nap" Dorcas said to me wearily. We were in the Great Hall, waiting for the others to finish lunch. The only good thing about exams was that school ended quickly on those days.

I nodded and dragged myself up from my seat. We were almost to Gryffindor common room when I noticed a small lone figure gazing curiously at the Fat Lady.

"Are you a lost first year?" Dorcas called out as we neared the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

Startled, the figure spun around. My eyebrows raised, I couldn't help myself. It was Regulus Black. Dorcas didn't seem to recognize him as she kindly asked again if he was lost.

"I-no-I just…" Regulus was caught off-guard, his eyes wide, "I…"

I walked forward and said, "Dorcas, go on up and sleep. I'll show him how to get to the Great Hall."

Dorcas nodded and shot me a smile, "Thanks, Ray. I'll see you."

I waited until Dorcas was inside to stare curiously at the younger Black. His features were quite similar to Sirius's, except that his cheekbones were slightly less defined and his eyes were closer to a silver-blue than a stormy grey. His expression was also completely different; instead of the arrogance and confidence bordering on conceit that his brother always displayed, Regulus had an anxious and honest expression.

"Come on, I can take you as far as the Great Hall. You'll have to find the way to the Slytherin common room from there" I said quietly.

"You know I'm from Slytherin?" Regulus asked, looking slightly fearful.

I nodded and replied, "I'm not going to hurt you. But you should leave before someone comes along and does hurt you."

Regulus suddenly looked angry and his aristocratic haughtiness flooded his demeanor, "Just because I'm from Slytherin? Well then, let them come. I'll stand my ground against any prejudiced idiot."

I was speechless for a moment, considering for the first time in my life the prejudice against Slytherins. I'd always thought of prejudice against Muggle-borns and sometimes, Hufflepuffs. But never against Slytherin.

"You're right" I said quietly, "It is stupid. But what are you doing here, anyway?"

His proud demeanor vanished as quickly as it came and he suddenly seemed rather meek again, "I-I was just… just…curious."

Confused, I searched his face for answers, but got nothing.

"All right, let's go" I said and this time, he followed quietly.

When he left towards the Slytherin table, I made my way back up to Gryffindor tower. I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

* * *

"Wake up… wake up…! Wake…up! WAKE UP!"

With a shout, I felt myself hurtling in the air, landing as a dazed heap on the floor.

I looked up blearily to see an amused Marlene, an impatient Lily, and an abashed Alice.

"Get up!" Lily insisted again, "We've got an adventure to go on!"

Besides me, I sleepily registered Alice gently trying to prod Dorcas awake.

Dorcas moaned loudly and covered herself with her blanket but Lily ripped it off and said, "Stop it, Dorcas. You'll wake up the whole Gryffindor tower."

"Like you haven't already" Dorcas murmured back.

"Guys, what time is it?" I asked, my voice cracking. I rubbed my eyes and stood up.

I knew Lily was a stickler for waking up early but…

"Two in the morning" Marlene answered.

* * *

So there we were, two in the morning, towels in our hands, on the banks of the Lake, in the moonlight.

"The game is simple" Lily was saying, "I used to play it all the time with… with…" Suddenly, her bright exuberance faltered for a moment, but finally she said, "It's not important. Anyways, so you dare someone to do something. If they do it, you have to jump in the Lake. If they can't or don't want to, they have to jump in the Lake. Simple enough, yeah?"

"We've got to make it quick or we'll be caught" Alice said, "It's easy to see us from the castle."

"Right" Dorcas said, "Marlene, since you're at the end, you start. Tell Lily a Dare."

"All right" Marlene thought for a moment before her eyes lit up, "Hey, Lily. You know how we'll be able to visit Hogsmeade next year?"

"Yeah?" Lily said, anxious.

"Promise to go with us instead of Sna… anybody else" Marlene finished.

Lily stiffened a bit at the mention of Snape and Alice and I traded nervous looks, but no one, not even Marlene, could stop her squeals and laughter when Lily shut her eyes tightly and with a magnificent jump, leapt into the lake.

"Cold?" I called out to Lily as she broke the surface.

"Not really" Lily answered, smiling, "It feels rather nice."

"Okay, Alice" Marlene said, "Say one mean thing about Ray."

I looked over at Alice, who was looking at me questioningly. I knew she hated large bodies of water like lakes and oceans. I shrugged and said, "Say anything. S'long as you don't have to jump into the lake."

Alice smiled kindly, but then shut her eyes and splashed into the lake.

I stared after her, astonished that she wouldn't say one bad thing about me… when she was so afraid of deep water…Aw, Alice.

"You okay?" I asked and Alice's head bobbed up and down as Lily swam over to her.

"Dorcas" Marlene dared, "Strip to nude."

In awe, we watched in admiration and disgust as Dorcas cheerily whipped off her shirt, pants, socks, bra, and underpants.

Alice and Lily both shrieked in the water, covering their eyes.

"In you go" Dorcas said smugly, pointing at the water. Marlene rolled her eyes before cannon-balling into the water.

"Your turn" Dorcas told me, grinning.

I tried to think of something ridiculous, something not even clever and confident Dorcas would do.

"Uh… prank Sirius Black" I blurted out, sure she would not take the challenge.

"I don't even know him" Dorcas protested.

"Then jump" I said, half-laughing.

But Dorcas being Dorcas sighed and then she said, "Fine. I will, but as soon as the deal's done, you have to jump straight into the Lake."

"Great, just not during classes" I agreed.

Suddenly, we heard a bark. I whirled around to see Fang far in the distance, at Hagrid's hut… yipping at us.

"Oh Merlin, there is no way I'm going to let _Hagrid _see me in my nudey pants!" Dorcas shrieked, grabbing her towel.

"Hurry!" Lily cried and she, Alice, and Marlene quickly got out of the water. I threw a towel around Alice and grabbed her hand as we raced back to the Hogwarts doors.

We made it through just as Hagrid opened the door to his Hut.

We were all completely silent as we jumped into our beds, save our hearts, which were absolutely thundering.

But after a few minutes had passed, Dorcas giggled, though her laugh was shaky because of her heavy breathing from running.

Then Marlene chortled lightly, and Lily started to laugh. Even Alice started to laugh and then none of us could help ourselves and I nearly cried from the amount of laughing I was doing.

"Move over, loser" Marlene told me, "I'm dry but my bed's still wet from that lake water."

"Just use that spell we learned in Charms" I responded, but Marlene ignored me and snuggled next to me in my bed. A moment later, Alice joined us, and from the conversation, I knew Lily had joined a now-in-her-pajamas Dorcas.

Smiling as widely as I have ever had in my life, I fell asleep when the first rays of dawn of Easter Holiday crept in.

* * *

Easter Holidays were filled with family, which was just fine by me. Seeing Jamie again gave a little more spark to my life, and though he had definitely bulked up a bit physically, his familiar brotherly smile and hair-ruffle made me feel at home again.

On the other hand, I felt more and more estranged from Sola. It was like she wanted me to be a little brother instead of a little sister, always encouraging me to wear tomboyish clothes, stay away from makeup, and eat a lot. At that point, I didn't care what I ate or wore, so I just tried to please her. It never crossed my mind that she was afraid I'd beat her, become prettier, smarter, or more popular than her. In my mind, that was not even a possibility.

* * *

It was the first day back from Easter Holidays and classes would start again tomorrow. Half the Gryffindor class seemed to be cramming in last-minute homework (like Marlene) and the other half consisted of socializing (like Lily). Alice was perched on her bed, away from company, staring worriedly at Dorcas, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her hair totally pulled back. She was adding disturbing ingredients to a brewing potion.

"Dorcas, are you sure that's completely safe in here?" Alice asked, her slightly fearful eyes peering anxiously at the bubbling cauldron.

"Yes, Alice. I know what I'm doing." Dorcas replied impatiently, as she always did when she was focused.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the door, "Is that what I think it is, Dorcas?"

Dorcas smirked and said, "Dinnertime. Get ready to meet the Giant Squid, Ray, love."

* * *

We seated ourselves unusually close to Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter that night. Usually, we were seated as far from them as possible, as they tended to test their pranks out on the nearest schoolmates they could.

For quite a while, dinner was perfectly normal and I eyed Dorcas, expecting to see a flicker of disappointment or confusion. But she seemed strangely pleased, and after Sirius had finished his third dish, I understood the subtlety of her potion work.

"Sirius, you-er, you put on some weight over break, did you?" Remus asked Sirius cautiously, trying to be sensitive.

James, however, took one look at his mate and laughed loudly. Sirius's stomach was starting to bulge. It wasn't ridiculously exaggerated, and that made it look all the more real.

Sirius looked down at his stomach, his shirt twisting around his belly as he did so. His eyes popped open and he leapt up from his seat, but by now the potion was working at full speed and his belly sagged over his jeans.

Girls started to whisper behind their hands and all the boys looked rather smug.

"Wha…What?" Sirius said, astonished. He'd probably never been anything but hot and sexy in his life.

"I think the real question is Who" James smirked, "Clever. A spell or a potion?"

"Potion" Dorcas replied, standing up from her seat. Everybody stared at her in awe as she threw a small vial at Sirius, who caught it instinctively, "That's the counter-potion and it'll bring you to normal."

Then, with the most angelic smile on her face, Dorcas turned to me, "Ray?"

I groaned mentally but reluctantly stood up and trooped my way out to the grounds.

Trying not to be aware of the curious classmates watching, I started running down the hill and then –breath- jumped full-speed into the Lake.

Dorcas had won that round.

* * *

Too soon, we were boarding the Hogwarts Express, which would take us back home for the summer. I had a suitcase in one hand and a book in the other but as we began to board the train, someone jostled my arm and my book went flying out of my hand.

I bent over to pick it up someone accidently kicked it and the book went flying even further. I tried again to pick it up but this time- someone beat me to it.

I accepted the book, thanking the person before I realized who it was- Regulus.

"You're welcome" he said, smiling warmly at me.

I felt a tingle of surprise run through me- his smile was so wide, innocent, and bright. Nothing you'd expect from a pureblood Slytherin. In fact, even his elder Gryffindor brother had never displayed a smile so free from burden and arrogance.

Directly behind me, Marlene's voice could be heard, "Hey, Black, did you like that prank Dorcas pulled on you? The one that made you charmingly fat?"

"There's no such thing as charmingly fat, unless you're Peter" Sirius replied, not even bothering to look at Marlene, "So no, I don't like extra baggage."

"Does that go your family relationships too?" Regulus said, uttering the words so softly I doubted if he'd even spoke at all. And then he was gone, swept into the mass of Hogwarts students boarding the train.

And as I finally found an empty compartment, it hit me why Regulus had been standing in front of the Gryffindor common room that night. He had been curious… curious as to his brother's willingness to separate himself from all Regulus had ever known. Regulus missed his brother and admired him, even if he couldn't quite understand or reach out to him. Regulus was lonely.


	6. Chapter 6 Here Be Snakes And Dragons

Summer was rather lonely. Jamie was traveling for his Quidditch team and Sola was transferring between Paris and New York for her modeling career. The positive side was that I had the privilege of spending time with my loving parents, but some part of me was rather glad when third year came around again. This was also Sola's last year at Hogwarts, and predictably, as Head Girl and Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain.

* * *

I managed to find Lily in this ever-pushing crowd and before long, we'd bumped into Dorcas and Alice, who were together. We stood there chatting and Alice introduced her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Baker to us. They left us after wishing us all the best and an invitation to come visit them during the Christmas holidays, and soon after, the whistle blew and all the students began scurrying to the train.

"Where's Marlene?" Lily asked, but no sooner had the question been asked, when Marlene showed up, breathing heavily, "Will you take that on the train for me? Thanks!" She threw a rather cumbersome and very heavy bag at me, which I instinctively caught. I literally think the bones in my arm bent, it hurt so badly. Without another word, Marlene dashed off to store her trunk at the end of the train and Dorcas said, "Well, we'd better get on unless we preferred being stranded here?"

We got on, me with some difficulty. Because we were so late, almost all the compartments were full.

The corridors were filled with people as well, looking for friends and already-misplaced luggage.

Some fourth year boy running after his toad accidentally bumped into me, shouted a quick apology over his shoulder, and continued running. Meanwhile, my bag, which contained a few picture frames of my family and other small fragile valuables was perched precariously on top of Marlene's lumpy bag, which I was holding with my arms, began to tip over. I tried to balance them, but I knew it was hopeless-

As it started to fall and I prepared to scream, someone's hands suddenly reached out from behind me and steadied it.

"Whoa, there" I heard that person say behind me.

I turned around to thank that person, and though I could barely see over the two bags, found that it was James Potter standing right in front of me.

My breath caught. "Er- thanks", I managed. Zane, who had just come out a nearby compartment and had seen the whole thing, said, "Here, come in our compartment." He helped me store the bags away above the seats, before turning to me and instead of saying hello, said "Ray, why are you one of _those _girls?"

"Hm?" I tried to play it off like I had no idea what he was talking about, like I wasn't beginning to blush at the thought of James Potter and… and Sirius Black and Remus Lupin…

"What are you talking about?" I said.

He rolled his eyes, "Please. The word 'starstruck' was written on your forehead."

Ironically, I was embarrassed more at the idea of James Potter reading those words on my forehead than Zane writing them there.

I had lost the others on the train and found myself meeting new people in Zane's compartment, mostly fellow Ravenclaws.

"Hello, Jamie and Sola's sister whose name I don't know" a cheeky, smiling young girl with short purple hair waved to me from the window seat.

"Her name is Raylynx" Zane responded quickly, hoping I wouldn't be offended by the comparison to my siblings.

But I sucked it up, smiled, and said, "Hey, nice to meet you."

"I'm Hestia Jones", the purple-haired girl continued, "A fourth-year Hufflepuff on the Quidditch team."

_Oh, so that's how she knows Jamie and Sola. _

"Hi, I'm Emmeline Vance", an athletic, short blonde-haired girl introduced herself kindly, "I'm a fourth year Ravenclaw."

"Sturgis Podmore, third year Hufflepuff, I think I've seen you around", a rather built boy with short hair said to me.

I nodded to him, "Yeah, I think you're in my Herbology class."

"Kingsley Shacklebolt, fourth year Gryffindor", a very tall boy told me. He had a very deep and appealing voice, one that made you want to trust him. As a fellow Gryffindor, I'd seen around the common room every once in a while but this was the first time we had been formally introduced.

"Mary MacDonald, I'm a fourth year Ravenclaw", a girl sporting very owlish glasses and light brown hair waved to me.

"Oh, you're the Quidditch commentator, aren't you?" I asked aloud, recognizing her voice, "You're very good."

She smiled at me ecstatically, very lively and quirky.

"Amelia Bones" a very strong-voiced and tall girl with straight dark brown hair introduced herself, "Fourth year Ravenclaw."

"Nice to meet you. Look, I'll be right back", I told them, "I just want to find my fri-"

"No need, we've already found you" I turned to see Dorcas opening the compartment door. She was with Marlene and Alice.

"Lily's gone with the greasy git" Marlene said shortly, before I could ask.

"Speaking of gits, I think you owe Zane and me a 'thanks' for carrying your heavy bag all the way in here. Did you put your whole house in there, why is it so heavy?" I asked her.

"Oh, well…", Marlene suddenly laughed and said, "I actually put a set of weights in there, for training, since you know, I have to stay fit and all. Crap, I didn't think about that before I threw it to you, sorry."

My mouth dropped open in indignation and Alice gently scolded Marlene, but Marlene and Dorcas found it absolutely hilarious. They stayed and chatted with the others for a bit as well, but the compartment was very overcrowded.

"Hey, we found a compartment with some Gryffindor girls, but there's only room for three", Dorcas said apologetically, "We'll find you at the Great Hall, though, okay?"

"That's fine, see you later", I said, and they left.

* * *

As it turned out, the train ride was loads of fun anyways, as the eight of us whiled away the time, chatting (the fourth years could tell us about Hogsmeade and taking extra classes), playing Wizard's chess and Exploding Snap, and eating a ton of candies and pastries even though the Feast was only a couple hours away.

"Don't take Muggle studies" Mary warned us, dealing out cards for Wizard's version of poker, "Hoult's a balmy old bat."

"Arithmancy's very difficult, lots of analytic work, but worth it, I think", Kingsley said, looking over his cards.

"Bets?" Sturgis asked us, and we all bet appropriately.

"What's wrong with Hoult?" Zane asked.

"Well", Mary frowned, "To be frank-"

"YES!? Yes, that's me! You've seen my toad?!" A messy-haired, anxious-looking boy burst into our compartment so suddenly that Hestia shrieked.

"Frank, for Merlin's sake, why are you bursting into people's compartments like that?" Hestia asked, clutching at her chest.

"But- didn't you call my name? I thought you found my toad…" Frank said sadly. I knew Frank Longbottom by sight, he was a fourth year Gryffindor.

"No… you've lost your toad again? Why don't you just use magic to find him?" Kingsley suggested.

"You know we don't learn the Summoning Charm until fifth year… Besides, we're not supposed to do magic-" Frank started to say-

"For heaven's sake, you're a Gryffindor! Break the rules every once in a while, will you?" Mary said, shaking her head.

"Here, Frank", Emmeline said kindly, "_Accio Trevor!_" Suddenly, a frog slammed into the compartment door besides Frank.

"Trevor!" Frank kneeled down and picked up a rather dazed frog, "Thanks, Emmeline."

"See you later, Frank", she said, smiling when he immediately ran into someone in the corridor.

"You won't get in trouble for that?" I asked her.

She shook her head, "The most the Ministry can do it track down where the magic is coming from, not the particular spell-caster. Search a train full of witches and wizards for one Summoning Charm? Not likely."

Mary shook her head and said, "All right, continuing on, all bets are now pla-"

And the entire deck exploded cheerfully.

"Damn it, I had a royal flush, I did" Sturgis muttered.

"Not anymore. Whew, I could've lost a lot there", Amelia grinned.

* * *

With an unusually cold September came my first Quidditch try-outs, since I was now a third-year. Whenever Sola or Jamie had declared a position that they wanted to try out for, usually they were the only ones to try out for that position. Everyone had already given up on the possibility of defeating either one of them and picked another position to try out for.

But that certainly did not apply to me. I stood in a queue of Gryffindors that wanted to try out for Seeker and obviously, none of them were intimidated by me. If anything, I was intimidated by them.

The Keeper Position was already taken by the Captain, sixth year Alexander Wood.

Beater Tryouts were absolutely brutal and the last two standing, fifth year Benjamin Spinnet and sixth year Hayden Knight were chosen.

Chaser Tryouts were next and they involved all sorts of maneuvering, catching, and throwing. It was a game of cat-and-mouse with extremely intelligent players at high speeds. The Chaser position was definitely the most popular choice and tryouts were long and unrelenting.

Finally, sixth year Harper Bell was welcomed back for his third year, while surprisingly, third year James Potter and shockingly, third year Sirius Black were chosen as Chasers.

People began to whisper. Third years were rarely chosen for Chaser spots. And though one might have expected the slender James Potter to fly like a bird, how did Sirius Black manage any sort of grace at all when he was a dragon, a lion, a panther?

Nervous and feeling extremely uncoordinated on my own broomstick after witnessing such a display of fantastic Quidditch by Black and Potter, my Seeker try-outs did not go half as well as I hoped. After failing to find the Snitch after one minute, the whistle blew and I touched down back onto the ground. My heart sank when seventh-year Beaufort Williams caught the Snitch at fifty-seven seconds. I turned away to leave the Pitch when Alexander called my name, "Hey, Kingsley! Kingsley!"

I paused and spun around to see Alexander jogging up to me, "What's your first name again? Raylynx?"

I nodded, curious as to why he would be speaking with me after I'd so miserably failed try-outs. It never took me more than fifty seconds to find a Snitch on an empty field… but as always, under pressure, I could never live up to the expectations. _In the end, what does it matter if you're good at it, if you're not good at it when it matters?_

"Did you hear me? I want you to be our alternate Seeker, okay? So come to every other practice and be at all our matches, all right? Beaufort's the Seeker, but he's a seventh year and I can't just let your talent come to waste. You obviously fly well, only second best to Beaufort."

Alexander held his hand out solemnly and I shook it and replied, "I'll be at practice tomorrow." He smiled warmly at me and then left to congratulate the others. I felt a blossom of warmth in me despite my terrible performance- at least he was generous enough to see the potential in me.

* * *

At dinner in the Great Hall, Sirius Black unexpectedly tapped me on the shoulder. I nearly choked on my soup when I realized it was him. We'd never even talked before. What if he'd found out about the wand?

"Your sister is Sola Kingsley? The gorgeous, smart one?" he asked.

I slowly nodded, swallowing the rest of my soup in my mouth carefully.

"Merlin, I never would've guessed you were related to her" Sirius mentioned casually before turning back to his mates.

Though they were just casual words, the impact of those words hit me very hard. What he was saying, essentially, was that I wasn't near as gorgeous nor as smart as Sola. I wasn't like her, and I certainly didn't measure up to her. Suddenly, any previous hunger faded and I just sat there in my seat, numb, alone, and sinking in a puddle of hurt and worthless jealously.

* * *

Third year not only meant Quidditch, but also the start of extracurricular subjects. I'd chosen Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Divination. Divination was an interesting class with Professor Elliot, though it didn't quite seem like you could teach someone to see. You were either born gifted or you didn't have it. Arithmancy was difficult from the start, as Kingsley had predicted, but Lily, Dorcas, and I put our heads together and began to enjoy the different puzzles each equation represented. My favorite elective was Ancient Runes, which Professor Maudrick taught. I was quickly taken by Professor Maudrick's incredibly insightful lectures, though he was quite young, having only graduated Hogwarts three years ago himself. He honestly seemed more like a good-looking drunk than a legitimate professor because his messy light brown hair was always pulled back in an unkempt ponytail and he often had dark circles under his eyes. But he never failed to fascinate me about the meaning found in Runes, and how even today, they influenced the way we spoke and even thought about certain things. Ancient Runes became one of my favorite subjects, along with Astronomy and Charms.

And I was reading my Ancient Runes textbook at dinner one October day when a sneering voice from Ravenclaw table distracted me. I looked up to see Mulciber, a sixth year Slytherin, jeering at my sister.

"You think all your accomplishments mean anything? They only single out how pathetic you are. In the end, you know what you are? You're a dirty fucking Mudblood!"

My blood boiled, but I sat there at the Gryffindor table, too cowardly to make a move.

"Lay off her!" Chris, one of Sola's friends, growled. Sola calmly held Chris back with her arm and turned to Mulciber. "Slytherin's green is a terribly ugly color, Mulciber, when all it stands for is jealously" she spat, her words harsh and grating.

_I'm too scared. But that's your sister. She doesn't need my help. That doesn't matter. This isn't about her, this is about you._

Mulciber's eyes flashed and he gritted his teeth, hissing, "I'll show you, you fucking Mud-"

"I'm sick and tired of hearing that word! If that's all you have against my sister, then shut up!" I found myself standing up and shouting.

Everyone was absolutely stunned. Even some of the Professors looked up. Then, I realized that Mulciber was livid, his eyes boring into me, and Travers quickly strode over to me. He touched my cheek and laughed when I moved my head away.

Marlene was itching to stand up, but Lily held her down. Dorcas and Alice had their wands tightly in their hands, but really, what could we do against sixth year Slytherins?

"I suppose you're her sister?" Travers asked. He seemed rather amused, "You know what makes you? Another dirty-blooded Muggle-born."

Professor McGonagall, I saw, had nearly reached us.

"Until next time" Travers said, smirking, and he and Mulciber quickly left the Great Hall, with three or four other Slytherins.

Professor McGonagall hesitated, and when Sola and Chris sat down, and Dorcas pulled me back down into my seat, she slowly walked back to the Head Table.

* * *

When I left the table to go to class shortly after, Sola whisked me away though, into a corner of the castle, and proceeded to yell at me for being completely stupid and reckless.

"You realize what you did, Raylynx? Nobody even knew you were my younger sister, that you were a Muggle-born, but now you've made yourself a target with all Slytherins! And I won't even be here to protect you next year!"

"Well, I wasn't going to just stand by and applaud the guy who was insulting you" I defended myself.

"You're really an idiot. What do you think makes me feel worse right now, the fact that a few stupid Slytherins said some meaningless things to me or the fact that my little sister put herself in the line of fire because of me?"

"Are you telling me that if the situation was switched, you would have done nothing? Or that Jamie would have just let it happen?" I asked her skeptically.

"It's not the same thing. Jamie's different. But the point is you're my responsibility. I'm not yours." Sola retorted sternly.

I know Jamie's different. You trust him because he's capable, and I'm not.

Still. Sola was my responsibility too, in that I was her sister and I needed to stay by her side, even if she would never need my help.

"That's what you think" I responded honestly.

Sola bit her lower lip, which she always did when she was upset but had nothing to say. Finally she just sighed and shook her gorgeous mane of raven black hair before walking away.

I let out a breath I had been holding.

Somehow facing my own beautiful and intelligent sister was more frightening than facing a group of mean Slytherins.

* * *

"Today, we shall learn the Dragon Transformation Spell. It turns any object into a dragon; a small, transfigured dragon that cannot breathe fire. The movement is fairly simple, a simple slashing movement at the object. The incantation is such: _Draconifers_. Your pronunciation _must _be clear. _Draconifers!_"

"All right" Zane said with a deep sigh, "Let's crack on then, shall we?"

"Yeah. I went first last time, so the honor goes to you, Zane."

He smiled a little, crookedly, just the left corner of his mouth.

"What?" I asked him.

"What-? Nothing. I'll go, shall I?" He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slashes and said, "_Draconifers!"_

The book suddenly transformed in a flash of fiery red light and a small red dragon was suddenly on our desks.

"It's so small, it's pretty cute. Wait! It's not going to mew, is it?" Zane asked apprehensively.

"Well, McGonagall said it won't breathe fi-" my words cut short as the dragon suddenly extended its wings and let out a roar of fire- melting a small hole in the desk.

"What? It's not supposed to do that, right?" Zane said anxiously. The dragon bellowed again, a stream of fire burning another hole in the desk. "Ack! Stop, dragon!" Zane shouted.

"Um…", I called, "Professor!?"

McGonagall's response was an exasperated, "_Finnigan! Again!?"_


	7. Chapter 7 Plays of Hogsmeade

It was the first Quidditch match of the year: Ravenclaw versus Slytherin. The sky was absolutely crystal clear with not a puff of white in sight.

I went over to wish my sister good luck, but as I did I felt narrowed eyes watching me the whole way. I sneaked a glance over my shoulder to see the Slytherin Quidditch team: seventh-years Flint, and Drayden, sixth-years Mulciber, Zambini and Richards, fifth-year Vesper, and third-year Avery whispering together, their eyes on me and my sister.

I felt myself tense up with anxiety and I knew I had to watch my sister's back today, regardless of how much Sola would yell at me afterwards.

Too lost in my thoughts, I accidently bumped into someone's shoulder on the way back to the Gryffindor table. "Sorry" I mumbled immediately, and then those familiar silver eyes bore straight into mine.

"Regulus?" I asked, confused, "What are you doing here?"

"I have a message for my brother" Regulus answered, a little stiffly due to all the glares and mutters he was receiving from the Gryffindor table.

Upon hearing these words, Marlene leaned over and tapped Sirius on the shoulder. Sirius turned around and said cheerily, "What?" before realizing Regulus was there. His smile immediately disappeared as he addressed Regulus in a brusque tone, "What, Regulus?"

"Mother sent me a letter in which she begged me to give you this since you never read letters she addresses directly to you" Regulus replied and held out a folded piece of paper. Sirius snorted and took the piece of paper from his "Dear Mum". He flipped it open and began to read it to himself.

I'd never seen Sirius Black lose his composure, not once, not even when Dorcas had played that little trick on him or when Severus Snape had tripped him in the corridor. But by the time he was halfway down the page, his face was pale with anger and disbelief and the by the time he'd finished the paper, he was literally shaking from head to foot from rage.

"You-!" Sirius spewed out at Regulus, "Is this your idea of some sick joke? You damn- This isn't even the least bit funny, you bastard!"

Regulus was startled as he quickly tried to defend himself, "No, I didn't…That wasn't me. It was just…"

Sirius angrily started to shout and he ripped the parchment into pieces.

"Mate, you need to calm-" James began but cut off quickly as Flint, Mulciber, Travers, and Yaxley from the Slytherin table approached us.

"Nice work, Reg. Whatever you did" Flint smirked at Regulus. Instantly, Regulus' entire demeanor changed from uncertain and honest to arrogant and self-assured. My eyes narrowed as I realized that Regulus sought acceptance from the other Slytherins now… and my stare was met with Traver's challenging smirk. My hand inched towards my wand… and he mirrored me, but Flint had already turned away.

Sirius was still absolutely furious as the Slytherins haughtily left the Gryffindor table towards the Quidditch pitch. A shred of parchment on the ground stuck onto the bottom of my shoe and I bent over to pick it off. The words on the parchment caught my eye. In elegant script were the words "association with the blood traitor Potter and Mudbloods". Another piece of parchment flew by me and I caught it between my fingers. The words written were "intolerably disgusting and shameful". I hesitated as I realized that in my hands was an aspect of Sirius Black's life that I'd always overlooked in everyday life. That loud, obnoxious prankster was fighting a war of prejudice all on his own. I burned the pieces with my wand before I made my way down to the pitch where we joined Marlene, Dorcas, Lily, and Alice.

* * *

Today, at the match, I insisted on front row seats, which was unusual for me, but I was feeling very uneasy about the Slytherins' "honorable" intentions of fair play.

Sure enough, as soon as the game started, Flint grabbed my sister's head roughly. There were indignant shouts and I jumped up on my feet immediately.

Lily was pulling me down as Flint tried to explain how he thought Sola's head had been "the Quaffle". Ravenclaw was awarded a penalty shot, which was made, but ten points did nothing to cease the anger that riveted through me.

Twenty minutes later, Ravenclaw was winning seventy to forty, and Sola was beginning to grow impatient, hovering in the air. Abruptly and for no reason at all, Zambini barreled into her, shoving her at full impact into the sidelines.

I gritted my teeth but this time Marlene and Dorcas were the ones standing up, yelling at Madam Helens to do something. Another penalty shot was given, but missed. Ravenclaw's focus was falling apart.

Slytherin, though a tactic of physical-borderline-illegal pushing and shoving, managed to score two more goals and now the game was becoming dangerously close- Sola suddenly leapt up in the air, nearly vertical. She was flat against the broom as she willed herself up, up, up… towards a tiny glint of gold…

Vesper, the Slytherin Seeker, immediately followed, but he had started late and kept falling behind as Sola fearlessly climbed up into the sky. Then Vesper started to hesitate as he realized how risky this flight was… he could very well die from one wrong move… he slowed down dramatically. Sola was barely hanging onto her broom with her thighs and fingers… one wrong move… she would tip over backwards. My breath caught and I squeezed Dorcas' hand tightly.

"Ray-!", Lily squeaked, but was immediately shushed by Marlene.

But then my attention snapped as I realized that one Quidditch player was strangely still… Too stationary to be focused on the game…I saw Mulciber, whose wand was out in his hand and pointing up... His mouth began to move and I reacted without even thinking.

I pulled my wand out and whispered urgently, one of the few, few hexes I knew and could pull off, "Confundus!" Mulciber's wand suddenly slipped from his and dropped out of his reach, all the way down to the ground. Nobody noticed as everyone was focused intently on Sola and Vesper as the Snitch went higher and higher.

I stowed my wand away quickly, heart thundering at the prospect of getting caught by a Professor, but when I looked back up, it was Mulciber who was glaring at me with vehement rage emanating from his eyes. The whistle blew then, as Sola had caught the Snitch, but I couldn't breathe properly until Sola was safely back on the ground.

As her teammates ran to give her a huge hug and Mulciber tried to inconspicuously pick his wand up from the ground before it was trampled, Sirius Black came up to me to declare one thing, "Your sister is just beautiful, you know that, Kingsley?" before walking away with his mates and neither James nor Peter nor Remus spared me a single glance.

* * *

October had faded and it was our first Hogsmeade visit. Excited, we all lined up early.

We were all together except for one person- Lily. She was going with Severus and though Marlene hadn't said anything, she'd become extremely tight-lipped and short with Lily the last few days.

"C'mon, don't think about it. Let's just have fun by ourselves today" Dorcas said cheerfully.

"Where are we going first?" Alice asked.

In the end, it really didn't matter where we went first as we ended up going everywhere:

First, to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, where stacks of stacks of engraved parchment, calligraphic quills, elegant envelope seals, candle waxes, and bottles of inks were. I bought a few more scrolls of parchment, as I was running out, and for personal use, bought a bottle of black-spotted-gold ink.

Then we briefly visited both Dominic Maestro's Music Shop and Spintwitches Sporting Goods Shop before popping into the Three Broomsticks for a short rest accompanied by Butterbeer.

"Oh, gosh, it's so delicious!" Dorcas said excitedly. Alice sipped at it, to make the wonderful taste last longer, while Marlene and Dorcas had a competition to see who could down it faster. I held the warm glass between my hands for a bit before I finally allowed myself to taste it. It really was lovely and warm, like some type of marshmallow cream with hints of apple, caramel, and white chocolate. But the overall taste is really something that can't be compared to anything.

But we had to leave quickly if we wanted to visit all the shops- a peek into the Post Office, a bit longer stay at Zonko's Joke Shop, where predictably, most of the boys were, and an even longer stay at Honeydukes, the amazing sweet shop. I bought a package of huge chocolate truffles for my parents, a few Sweet Eggs (chocolate egg shells that melt in one's mouth, leaving a small minty marshmallow bird in the mouth that you can choose to let fly away and lay a limited number of eggs that don't hatch or to eat the bird) for Jamie, and a strazzberry-flavored Sugar Quill for myself.

Marlene and Dorcas wanted to see the Shrieking Shack while Alice wanted to stay at Honeydukes and I wanted to visit a small store nearby called Dreamer's Lair.

"Fine, let's meet up the bookshop Tomes and Scrolls in thirty minutes, all right?" I finally suggested, and we all agreed.

* * *

Dreamer's Lair was a small dusty shop, but as soon as I stepped in, I fell in love with it. The entrance floor was tiny, and everything was crammed together and somewhat musty- a small bar, small tables, crowded chairs, but everything was just beautiful- stained glass lamps, silk curtains, mahogany chairs engraved with gold stairs and turquoise pillows, books littered all over the tables… And small staircases led to a lower and upper floor.

"How may I help you?" an elderly man with glinting bronze glasses asked me kindly from behind the bar.

"Just… browsing", I answered shyly.

"Well, the tea and bottles are sold on the lower floor, and the drinks and food are sold here, at the bar, and the library and additional seating is on the upper floor", he informed me.

"Thank you", I said, and made my way downstairs to the tea and bottles. There were thousands of different types of tea. Hangover Tea one jar containing dark green and light brown leaves read. Another jar containing small light orange pebbles was labeled Soreness Tea. And a small glass box inlaid with cloth contained small flowers, like daises, withered light green leaves, and tiny sparkling gold gems called Meadow Tea.

"That one there", a familiar voice said behind me, "actually makes you feel like you're a meadow. It seems like daisies and you can feel a slight breeze and warm lingering sunshine on your skin when you drink it."

I turned to see Zane there, with three other friends, two of whom I recognized as Emmeline Vance (a tall lanky girl with short blonde hair and black eyeliner-lined eyes) and Jay Salinger (a fellow third-year Ravenclaw who was known for his intelligent writing). The third was a tall boy, who had sharp features and strikingly blonde hair.

"This is my cousin, Carlisle Taylor" Zane introduced us, "He's a seventh year Ravenclaw. I asked him to come with me to show me Hogsmeade and he agreed."

Carlisle smiled and nodded at me and I did the same. Emmeline, Jay, and Carlisle, who were all clearly good acquaintances, if not friends, began to look at the tea, laughing at the ridiculous ones and fawning over the ones that smelled nice.

"How did you know that's what Meadow Tea does?" I asked, putting the box back on its shelf.

"It's my mother's favorite kind of tea" Zane replied, "Though, we can't really afford it all that often." His voice faded at the end, obviously slightly sad, and I found myself ignorant of how to respond. I walked over to the bottles, then, which were multi-colored and multi-shaped. I picked up a light purple bottle with tiny wings and a gold cap. Someone had scribbled on the bottle in charcoal: SCENTS. A simple clear bottle shaped like a phoenix with a black cap had on the bottom: SNOW. And a very pretty light-blue bottle in the shape of a rose with a glittering cap said: SOUNDS.

"So that's what they store?" I asked Zane, who had picked up a tall rainbow-colored bottle with a white cap, "This rose one stores sounds that you can hear later."

Zane nodded, "Yeah, and this rainbow-one stores 'feelings'."

"Wow" I murmured, gently placing it back, "How do they do that?"

"You know when you go to the ocean and you pick up a shell and it sounds like the ocean?" Zane asked me. I nodded.

"That's a bewitched shell- it has the same charm on it- it preserves the sound of the ocean" Zane told me.

"That's beautiful" I said, "I wish I knew how to do it."

"Yeah, though some of these", Zane said, showing me a dark green bottle shaped like tree with the word LIFE scribbled on the bottom, "are kind-of frightening."

I shuddered at the thought of where such a thing would be obtained anyways, but then realized the time, "Oh, Merlin, I have to go. There's another shop I want to visit before I go and I have to meet up with my friends in less than minutes."

"See you later" Zane smiled at me, and I smiled back and waved to the others before leaving. I crossed the sidewalk into the second shop I had wanted to go to: Chance & Fortune. I was a little startled when no brilliant display of colors met my eyes- instead everything was just brown- brown packages with brown strings. Brown wooden chairs and tables and shelves, dusty light…

"Welcome to Chance & Fortune" a young lady said mischievously, smiling as she appeared from behind the counter and sat at the largest desk, "Would you like me to read your fortune?"

"I-what?" I asked, "I… I thought this was a shop."

"Yes, and you would be right. But what we sell is not really merchandise, unless you have a specific request."

More confused than ever I started to leave when she said, "Sit with me, child."

Hesitatingly, I walked towards her and sat and then I said, "Ma'am… I don't have money…"

She smiled that curious smile again and said, "You only need money if you wish to purchase the stones."

_What? Didn't she just say she didn't sell merchandise?_

"Pick a package", she said, and gestured at the entire room, "Any package."

I got up slowly, eyeing her, I didn't trust her…_But this is a legal store and everything, I mean… Kingsley said it's been here for ages. _I finally came to a stack of packages beside the fireplace… they littered onto the ground… Onto a bookcase, even above the bookcase.

"That one" I said, pointing to a small-sized package far out of my reach.

"_Accio" _the lady said, pointing her wand at it. It zoomed to her.

"Come, sit, I promise I won't charge you", she said.

As soon as my butt touched the chair, she ripped open the package in one swift movement – six stones spilled out and clattered across the table.

One slipped off the table and I barely managed to grab it before it shattered on the floor. I set it down on the table.

"Interesting, interesting" the lady murmured to herself. Losing patience, I meant to leave when her breath suddenly caught. I looked at her, startled.

"Look" she said, and pushed the stones towards me. Unwillingly, I did.

There was a smooth pale blue stone- almost a chalky texture, it would have fit snugly into the palm of my hand. Another stone with a glassy black but with flecks of shimmering light green- it was jagged, sharp-edged. Besides it was one as smooth as marble- the one that had slid off the table- it was a small clear ball but inside was a flurry of gold and silver, swallowing each other up. The fourth was a light pink crystal that glittered even in this musty light. The fifth was a rather large dark blue stone that looked like marble; glossy, heavy, unbreakable. And finally, a very small pure iridescent pearl that glistened beautifully, shaped like a six-petal flower.

"The first one, this smooth blue one… it's legacy", she said. She spoke normally, but her voice seemed to ring slightly, "But it can also mean burden… for that's what legacy is, is it not? Upholding something of value that has been outdated as meaningless tradition… This second one here, the glassy black with green- I have seen this stone many times as of recent… it indicates that something life-changing is coming, a storm, so to speak. What kind of storm, I cannot say, but change is coming. But even more interesting is this one beside it, for this is a marble I have only seen three times in my life- this small one with the gold and silver inside… it means that you _are _a life-changer. Your life will be changed forever and you will change lives forever… Curious and rare."

She picked up the glittering light pink crystal, "Oh my, _romance. _Lots of it, looking at the peaks. The color suggests genuine feelings as well-"

"You must be wrong" I interrupted her, "This is all wrong."

Her smile returned and she seemed more pleased than ever, her voice close to laughter. _She's totally playing me._

"This fifth one here, this large dark blue stone… this is also rare. Very rare. It's (and her voice seemed to lengthen, grow) magic. It is not only the power of magic, but speaks to the very origin of magic- understanding, partnership with magic. You are gifted."

"Again", I said, feeling more impatient that I'd ever felt before, "you're wrong."

"Finally, this _lumeare_-"

"What?", I asked, "it's not a pearl?"

She laughed lightly, "Oh no, don't be a fool, child. It's _lumeare_, there are only twenty-six of these in the entire world. It represents purity, love, light, _strength_, long life, freedom, self-discipline… breath, tears, dreams…destiny, loss, in short, it represents the _soul_."

"Soul?"

"Yes. There will come a point in your life where you feel you cannot hold onto anything, and at that turn, you will find your soul. It will be strength to you, but it will only come through deep, terrible loss."

The shallowest question rose in me, but I couldn't swallow it, "Can I buy it? The pear- stone."

She leaned back and studied me and said carefully, "I thought you don't have money."

"I don't" I answered bluntly, "but I might have enough for this one."

"There's only twenty-six in the entire world. It's price is valueless" she said, smiling, "_but _I'll give it to you- you can pay me in two ways- you can pay me a Galleon now and leave with it _or _you can take it for free if you believe that none of this is true. However, if this happens to come true, you must grant me a favor."

I paused… and then handed her a Galleon. She placed the stone in a small wooden box and handed it to me, saying, "See, you say I'm wrong, but you don't completely disbelieve, either. You believe there is a chance this is true- you refuse to be in my debt, even in possibility. "

I looked at her questioningly, "If there's only twenty-six in the world, why are you selling it to me for a Galleon?"

"Because" she answered quickly, "It _chose _you. It was barely, barely mine to give."

We looked at each other for one long moment before I broke away and back into the refreshing October air of the street. Gasping for breath as though I'd been underwater, I quickly raced through the village, coming to the bookstore in a matter of minutes. I glanced at my watch- I'd come a minute early thanks to my sprint. I closed my eyes and calmed myself down, unsure of why I was so shaken. _It's all a joke, come on, you know from Divination, none of this is true…_ I patted my jacket pocket nonetheless and felt relief that the box was there.

Suddenly, the bookstore door opened and a young lad carrying a box of books stumbled out, dropping many of them. I knelt down to pick them up, when one of them caught my eye- one embossed with Ancient Runes, one of my favorite subjects.

"Thanks for the help", the young boy told me.

"Oh, here, you forgot one" I said, holding it out to him, but my eyes never left the book. The boy looked at me, then the book, then at me again, smiled and said, "No, you keep that one. It seems you've taken a liking to it. As my thanks. Later, then."

And he was off, staggering under the box of books again. Alice, Dorcas, and Marlene approached me just then, and together we started the walk back to Hogwarts, chattering about all the sights and shops the whole way back- save for one very intriguing shop. I felt the clamminess and anxiety I'd felt in Chance & Fortune ebb away as I linked arms with Alice and continued listening to Dorcas and Marlene's hilarious adventure at the Shrieking Shack all the way back to Hogwarts- with the bright October stars twinkling happily down at us.

* * *

_a/n: seemingly insignificant. keep a sharp eye._


End file.
